


The Circle of Life

by SailorLestrade



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Learning about life, Sad, You really might cry during this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-24 23:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2601083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorLestrade/pseuds/SailorLestrade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Redbeard</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Circle of Life

**Author's Note:**

> I accidently wrote Redbeard as a girl in this story, so I guess it's somewhat AU.

It was early Christmas morning. Not a creature was stirring, well, except for the youngest Holmes boy. He was sitting up in bed, itching to go wake everyone up. But mummy made it clear that he was to sleep until at least 5 in the morning. But he couldn’t so he was sitting there, watching the minutes on his little clock by his bed.

“Come on. Come on!” Sherlock said. He could hear his brother snoring in the next room and couldn’t wait to jump on him and wake him up for Christmas. That’s when the clock finally said it was five. Sherlock had the biggest smile ever as he jumped up. The four year old jumped up, his little pirate footie pajamas making it easier for him to sneak in on the attack. He snuck into Mycroft’s room then pounced on him like a lion.

“Sherlock!” Mycroft screamed. But Sherlock just laughed. Mummy and daddy Holmes woke up then.

“Must be 5.” She said. He yawned and put on his glasses.

“Well, my vacation was good while it lasted.” He chuckled. “Let’s get downstairs before Sherlock decides to start opening presents without us.”

So the Holmes family gathered in the living room and passed out presents, Sherlock eagerly digging into each one. After pirate toys and Legos and chemistry sets had all been open, daddy went outside.

“Mummy?” Sherlock asked, playing with his Captain Hook Lego set. “Where daddy go?”

“For your last present.” She said. Sherlock’s eyes were open with eagerness. Mycroft rolled his eyes and went back to the book that he had received. One he had been wanting for a while. Daddy came in then, holding something under his long coat.

“Sherlock, this is for you and Mycroft, but we all know how much he loves these.” He laughed. “This is to help out around the house because of me and mummy being gone so much for work. Do you want to see it?” Sherlock nodded eagerly. Daddy smiled and set something on the ground that ran up to Sherlock and started to like the boy.

“A puppy!” Sherlock squealed. “You got me a puppy!”

“Oh joy.” Mycroft groaned.

“Oh Myc, don’t be such a spoil sport. William loves her.” Mummy said. She called her oldest Myc to annoy him and her youngest William, because she just couldn’t see a four year old liking to call himself Sherlock, even though he made Mycroft call him that.

“You are Redbeard.” Sherlock said, cuddling the tiny puppy close. “And you are my new best friend.”

****

Sherlock and Redbeard went on adventures together while Mycroft stayed inside and read, occasionally watching out the window at them. They were often left home for long hours while mummy and daddy worked, but Sherlock had a vast imagination. One day, he and Redbeard would be pirates, trying to steal Mycroft’s food. The next, they might be circus performers. It all just depended.

And as Sherlock got older and started going to school, Redbeard got into the habit of walking him to school and then waiting for him outside. Since his school was only a little walk from the house, unlike Mycroft’s, which was farther, it didn’t really matter.

One day, Redbeard arrived at the school. The teachers all knew the dog well and smiled and petted her when she arrived. But she didn’t see her Sherlock anywhere. Walking around, she found him sitting on a swing in the playground, crying. His lip was busted open, his knees were skinned, his hands were dirty. She ran over to him, whimpering.

“It’s okay girl.” He said. “I’m fine.” He kept crying. He had gotten beat up after school by some older boys. Redbeard barked loudly and soon, Sherlock’s teacher came around and saw them.

“Sherlock!” She said. On the first day of school, when asked what name they chose to go by, Sherlock had bypassed his first name and instantly went for his first middle name. “What happened?”

“B-Bobby S-Small and friends.” Sherlock cried. She took him by the hand.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” She said lovingly, like a mother. “Good girl Redbeard. Come on. Let’s take Sherlock inside.” Redbeard wagged her tail and followed them. She made sure to get to the school even earlier to protect her beloved master.

****

Sherlock learned a lot because of Redbeard. For example, when she had her puppies, Sherlock had to learn about the birds and the bees. By this time, Sherlock was old enough to know but everyone had just kept pushing it off. Mummy started to stay home more, despite the fact that now Mycroft was really old enough to take care of Sherlock by himself.

But the hardest lesson Sherlock ever got from Redbeard came about the time he was 14.

He knew Redbeard was old. She had lost the sight in one of her eyes and the other one was starting to go. She had arthritis that made it hard for her to climb the stairs to Sherlock’s room, so she slept on a bed in the kitchen most of the time. Mummy took her to the vet one day while Sherlock was at school, to check for heart worms and to get an arthritis medication to help her out.

Sherlock came home that day from school to see mummy sitting sadly on the couch, Redbeard lying by her with her head in her lap. Sherlock knew something was wrong then, because mummy never let Redbeard lay on the couch unless Sherlock was sick and needed to be downstairs.

“Mummy, what’s wrong?” Sherlock asked, his voice squeaking as he spoke.

“Honey…I’m afraid Redbeard has cancer.” She said. Sherlock’s face paled and he briskly walked over to his best friend and petted her gently.

“What surgery are they going to do on her? Will she be okay?” Sherlock asked. Mummy sighed and hugged her boy to her.

“Honey, I’m afraid that there is no surgery they can do for her.” Mummy said. “But, they would like to put her down. So that she’s not suffering anymore.”

“Put her down?! You mean they want to kill her?!” Sherlock said. Mummy brushed his bouncy curls.

“Sweetie, I know this will be hard for you, but Redbeard lived a long and happy life. She had the best friend a dog could ask for. But dogs age differently than people and Redbeard has gotten pretty old. Do you understand?” She asked. She felt him nod. “We could get you a different dog later on if you want…”

“No.” Sherlock snapped. “I don’t want another dog. I just want Redbeard.” She sighed and held her son close.

“I know sweetie. I know.”

So the day before that day came. Sherlock babied the Irish Setter and treated her like a queen. He saw the youth in her eyes, but he also saw the pain and the tiredness she must be feeling. He hugged her close and slept downstairs with her that night.

The time came and they took Redbeard to the vet. Sherlock held her leash as she limped in. The nurse working at the front desk smiled at them and took Redbeard back to the room. As they got ready, she came back out.

“Would you like to say goodbye?” She asked. Sherlock shook his head no and quickly ran out of the office. The nurse smiled sadly at mummy, who chased her son down. He was sitting on a bench outside, crying. His best friend of ten years was going to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

****

After that day, all three other members of the Holmes family noticed a change in Sherlock, whenever he would come out of his room and stop doing experiments. He was cold and calculated, not getting attached to anything living. He became sarcastic and rude. He focused more on what made people up then the people themselves. He was never the same.

Redbeard made Sherlock a happy kid.

But Redbeard also made Sherlock the man he is today.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you think? Way too sad? Please comment and kudos!


End file.
